The Anniversary Gift that Wasn't
by WhiteFeather1965
Summary: Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Lee and Amanda have been married for three years and it is their wedding anniversary. Lee thinks he has found the perfect gift for Amanda. Amanda has the perfect gift for Lee, but something will happen to prevent her from giving it to him. Inspired by an episode of The Rookies, which also starred Kate Jackson and Sam Melville, who plays Joe, Amanda's ex.


Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is owned by Shoot the Moon Productions. For entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

Lee and Amanda have been married for three years and it is their wedding anniversary. Lee thinks he has found the perfect gift for Amanda. Amanda has the perfect gift for Lee, but something will happen to prevent her from giving it to him. Inspired by an episode of The Rookies, which also starred Kate Jackson and Sam Melville, who plays her ex-husband, Joe.

**The Anniversary Gift that Wasn't**

Lee and Amanda sat at a table at what appeared to be an upscale restaurant. Lee had a glass of champagne in one hand and reached to take Amanda's hand with his other. "To three years of marriage," Lee offered a toast.

"To us," Amanda offered in return and tapped her glass to Lee's. Then she sipped from her glass sparingly.

Lee took a sip from his glass and set it down. He took the glass from Amanda's hand and set it down, so that he could take both of her hands in both of his. Lee stared raptly into her eyes and Amanda stared back, her dark brown eyes sparkling with happiness and love. A quirky smile played at the corners of his mouth that showed off his killer dimples. Amanda's knees immediately turned to jelly at the sight.

Amanda blinked and tilted her head to one side as Lee reached inside his jacket. He withdrew one red rose and laid it on the table. He reached in again and brought out a small blue velvet box that said Tiffany's on it, which he handed to Amanda. She turned the box over in her hands a few times, reluctant to open it. "Go ahead. Open it," Lee coaxed.

She finally righted the box and flipped it open. Amanda inhaled sharply at the beauty of it. On a bed of blue velvet lay a delicate white gold puffed heart shaped pendant encrusted with tiny diamonds. Lee told her that it was an exact replica of the one worn by Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched, meaning the gold and diamonds were real. Amanda smiled beatifically as she touched the heart. She picked it up to latch it at the back of her neck. The heart rested at a point halfway between her throatlatch and her cleavage. She looked up to catch Lee's reaction and he reached to touch her face.

He had to catch his breath before he said, "You look absolutely stunning. Do you like it?"

She did not trust her voice, so she nodded and picked up the rose to bring it to her nose. After a moment she swallowed and said, "It's beautiful. I'll treasure it always. Whenever did you get it?"

Lee grinned and said, "I ordered it months ago in anticipation of this day."

Amanda hesitated for a moment, before she said, "Now for your gift. As you know, a few days ago I went in for my annual physical. They did some tests, because I had been feeling tired and nauseous and dizzy recently ..." She got no further since there was a commotion on the far side of the room.

She turned in the direction of the shouting voices to see men in ski masks with guns collecting wallets and jewelry. He fingered her pendant debating whether or not to take it off along with her wedding rings before the masked men got to their table.

Lee made to get up, but Amanda grabbed his hand and whispered, "Please don't try to be a hero." But Amanda knew it was a waste of breath. It was like telling a horse not to swat flies with its tail. He kissed her hand and smiled apologetically.

Lee walked with slow caution toward the masked bandit who seemed to be in charge. He had his back to Lee, so he jumped at the bandit and struggled to disarm him. Sometime during the struggle, the gun went off. An instant after she heard the gunshot, Amanda felt a hot stinging sensation in her lower back and fell to the floor next to the chair. As she fell, she instinctively covered her stomach with her arm to break her fall.

After he had subdued the leader and held the others at gunpoint, Lee glanced toward the table where he and his wife had been sitting. He did not see her immediately. Then, he saw her, a crumpled blue heap on the floor.

Lee quickly secured the area, had the maitre d' call the police and an ambulance and made his way stumblingly to where Amanda lay. She was on her side and her hand still splayed over her lower belly. She turned her head as Lee knelt behind her. Blood trickled from the wound in her lower back and onto the carpeted floor.

He immediately grabbed all the napkins from his table and the table cloth to pack and wrap the wound. He noted that she had lost a significant amount of blood before he could get to her to minister to her wounds. One hand held the makeshift pack made of napkins over the wound and the other hand smoothed a stray bit of hair from Amanda's face. For a tough guy, who never cried, the tears fell hard and fast now. "This is all my fault, all my fault. If I had only listened to you and stayed at the table," he choked out.

Lee pulled her into his lap and cradled her in his arms, his lips touching her temple. Amanda lay against his shoulder and it was evident that she needed to tell him something. Lee placed a finger on her lips to quiet her. "Shhh. Don't talk. It'll be all right."

Amanda shook her head and took a deep breath, as she tried to block out the pain for a few seconds. She blinked a few times and tried to focus. "Lee, … I have to …tell you something," she said, her voice a breathy whisper, so low that Lee had to strain to hear her. "I'm …gonna have a baby, Lee. It was …my gift …my surprise." Her eyes grew wide for a moment and the cords in her neck bulged. She took a shuddering breath and went silent. Her head lolled on Lee's shoulder.

Lee jostled her gently. "Amanda? Amanda!" He touched her neck to see if he could find a pulse. He sighed with relief when he found it, rapid and thready, but there. He could see her breathing, slow and shallow and struggling, but breathing, none the less. She was alive, but just barely. There was little to do now but keep pressure on the wound and wait for the ambulance to arrive.

Lee turned his head when he heard sirens in the distance and caught sight of the chair. The bullet had gone through the back of the chair and lodged in Amanda's lower back. Most of the speed of the bullet was slowed by the impact with the chair and probably kept it from going deeper and doing more damage than it had.

The ambulance arrived and that's how the EMTs found them, Lee on the floor cradling an unconscious and bleeding Amanda in his arms. Lee lifted Amanda to the stretcher and watched as the EMTs started an IV and put an oxygen mask on Amanda's face. When she was stabilized for transport, they wheeled her out to the waiting ambulance. Lee picked up the rose and the velvet box from the table and went to get in the ambulance.

He sat down next to Amanda and a feeling of déjà vu assailed him. She was wearing the same blue dress as another time she had ridden in an ambulance. Then, she had been drugged with a potent truth serum and awakened halfway to the hospital. Now, Lee searched her oxygen masked face for any sign of consciousness, but found none.

As the ambulance careened through the evening, Lee held Amanda's hand and as he stroked her hair, he said, "Don't leave us, Amanda. You are so loved here. So many people love you and don't want you to go. I love you, Amanda. Stay here with me. Stay with me."

He planted a tender kiss on her forehead and he laid his head close to hers. Then he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. With all of his being, he willed her to be all right. "I'm here, Amanda. I'm here. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're okay."

The ambulance arrived at the hospital and Amanda was rushed into the ER and Lee was relegated to the waiting room to pace and worry and pace some more. After awhile, tired and sick to the depth of his soul, Lee sat down and buried his head in his hands. He had been in that position for some time. He rose from his seat, when a doctor came to talk to him.

"I'm Dr. Longmire. We were able to remove the bullet and as far as we can tell, it did minimal damage and though the bullet struck close to the spine, there was no spinal cord involvement. She was about 7 weeks pregnant and we weren't able to save the baby. I'm very sorry. She will be moved to a room as soon as she is stable. I'll send someone to get you."

"Thank you, Doctor," was all that Lee could get out past the lump in his throat. After what seemed forever, a nurse came to take him to his wife.

Lee stood for a moment in the doorway of the room. Amanda lay on the bed with her eyes closed. She was so pale and still and had it not been for the steady beeping of the heart monitor, he would have thought she was dead. He came quietly to the side of her bed and took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. He brought it to his lips and touched the side of her face with his other hand. Amanda roused slightly and shook her head.

Her eyelids fluttered for a moment and she opened her eyes, so dark as to be almost black and so full of sadness. Her other hand rested on her lower belly and she felt a hollow emptiness there.

She struggled to sit up and drew her legs up to make a place on the bed for Lee to sit. She patted the place and Lee sat down. He looked at her questioningly.

"I lost it. I lost the baby, didn't I? It was my anniversary surprise for you," she said and ran her finger up and down the underside of Lee's jacket lapel. Lee nodded and looked up to catch her gaze. As Lee watched, her eyes were suddenly bright with unshed tears.

"I know about your surprise and I love you for it," he said, as he wiped a tear from Amanda's cheek with the pad of his thumb. He came to lie next to her and cradled her in his arms like a small child as she buried her head in his chest and cried out her grief and pain at the loss of their baby. He rested his chin on the top of her head and his tears flowed through her hair and down the side of her face to mix with her own.

"Our baby is gone," she said, as she drew back and wiped tears from her face with the heel of her hand.

Lee offered her a handkerchief and choked out, "Yes, it's gone."

"The doctor was in here earlier and said that the bullet did minimal damage and it just traumatized my body enough to make me miscarry. We can try again when we are ready …and I do want to try again," Amanda said, as she wiped away the tears.

"We'll have a half dozen, if that's what you want," Lee said, as he cupped her face with his palm and stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb. He reached to place a tender kiss on her forehead and touched his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, before he said, "I'm just glad you're safe and sound and still here with me."

Amanda blinked sleepily and burrowed into Lee's chest again. There she fell asleep, safely cradled in the arms of the man she loved more than life itself. Lee drowsed next to her, protecting her as he knew only he could.


End file.
